Garmin has always been well known for virtual on-screen marine navigation, but since 2019 it's also been doing some work on the mechanical side of on-water navigation through its Force lineup of trolling motors. Its latest Force drive might just be its most innovative yet. The lightweight Current electric kayak motor goes totally hands-free with a foot pedal system Garmin calls an industry first. Keep your bait in the water while cruising forward, reversing and performing zero turns.

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Category: Boats and Watersports, Toys, Outdoors

Tags: Kayaking, Garmin, Fishing, Electric Boats, Electric Motors

Why tear down an entire building, if only its flimsy interior components need to be replaced? That's the thinking behind a new Velcro-like fastening system which allows interior walls to simply be yanked out by hand and swapped for new ones when necessary.

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Category: Good Thinking, Technology

Tags: TU Graz, Building and Construction, Velcro, Sustainability

Photo: DPReview

Less than a week ago, Ricoh announced the GR IV, the next iteration of its highly popular compact line. Now, six years after its launch, Ricoh has discontinued the predecessor, the GR III.

The move shouldn't come as much of a surprise, since when Ricoh initially teased the GR IV earlier this spring, it also said that production of the GR III would end in July 2025. That's now official, as the Ricoh GR III is listed as discontinued on the Ricoh Japan website as well as at B&H. The Ricoh US site and other retailers still have the camera marked as backordered at the time of writing, however.

Even though Ricoh had announced its plans, it still may be a disappointment to those hoping to pick up the GR III at a discounted price. That is, after all, what happened with the last changing of the guard: when Ricoh launched the GR III in 2019, the GR II got a price cut. At that time, the company was likely selling through existing stock, though. The GR III, on the other hand, has been backordered since roughly the beginning of 2024, suggesting there is much less stock available.

The GR IIIx is still available, as there is currently no replacement for it. Ricoh also said in its May teaser that it will continue to produce and market the GR IIIx for now. Unfortunately, that device is also listed as out of stock, so while it isn't discontinued, getting your hands on one may not be straightforward. Likewise, Adorama has the GR III Street Edition listed, though also on backorder.

Attention all petrolheads and e-bike fans ... Swedish-owned, Spain-based electric motorcycle manufacturer Stark Future has just confirmed some big news. The company is developing electric street bikes with one mission: to outdo petrol-powered bikes.

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Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: stark, Electric Motorcycles, Off-road, Enduro, livewire, Can-Am, Zero Motorcycles

If you're trying to firmly clamp small irregular-shaped objects, utilizing an adaptable desktop fractal vise is certainly one option. The K-One offers an interesting alternative however, plus it's reportedly the first of its kind to pack an electric motor.

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Category: Around The Home, Lifestyle

Tags: Kickstarter, Tools, Motorized

Although we've seen a number of different robotic water striders over the years, scientists are still finding clever new aspects of the insects to replicate. Recently, for instance, researchers created a strider-bot that zips across the water's surface via fans on its feet.

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Category: Robotics, Technology

Tags: UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Insect, locomotion, Biomimicry

For a drone company that just broke cover in May, SiFly has certainly gone from strength to strength in 2025. Its latest achievement came on Orville Wright's birthday, when the company's Q12 drone soared into the most famous record book in the world.

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Category: Drones, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: SiFly, eVTOL, Quadcopter, Delivery drone, World's Longest

Several feet below city streets around the world lurks a dangerous and unspeakably gross threat to our way of life: fatbergs.

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Category: Materials, Science

Tags: Sewage, RMIT University, Water

Image: Canon

Retro compact cameras are a hot ticket item at the moment. Some of these pocketable devices have gone viral on social media, driving up interest and demand, leading to steep prices. Many used to sell for $5 at garage sales, but now have seen prices of $500 or more on the secondhand market. While they have their appeal, most retro point-and-shoots are running on borrowed time.

Cameras have limited lifespans Many things can break on older cameras, especially if they aren't stored or cared for properly. In this case, the battery compartment of this compact film camera is corroded.
Image: delihayat / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Every electronic device has a limited lifespan, and cameras are no different. Electronic components do eventually fail. Capacitors, flexible flat cables and LCD screens are common points of failure on compact cameras. The LCD may go dim, lose segments or flat out stop working. Flex cables like those used for moving lens assemblies can crack and disconnect. Additionally, moving components like sliding lens covers, pop-up flashes, or even shutter buttons can all develop issues and break with repeated use.

Most compact cameras were designed to last between 3 and 7 years. Some are able to reach 10 years with gentle use. The issue here is that many of the popular models came out in the early 2000s or 2010s, meaning they are now well beyond their expected service life. Making matters worse, if you're buying a used camera on eBay, you have no clue how it was handled before you get your hands on it. It may not have had the careful treatment that would allow it to have a longer lifespan.

Many compacts aren't repairable Photo: vavlt / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

You may think that a broken camera is just something that could be repaired. Unfortunately, it's rare for manufacturers to provide service or spare parts for devices that are more than 5 to 10 years old (and that's even assuming the company that made the camera is still around). That's even more true for consumer-level devices like point-and-shoot cameras. That means you can't send the camera to the brand for repairs, and repair businesses won't have spare parts.

Beyond being outside their service window, compact cameras are, as the name suggests, designed to be very small. To do that, companies created densely packed and non-modular builds. Replacing an LCD screen, then, isn't as simple as just popping the old one off and replacing it. It generally involves a complete disassembly. Such a repair job requires highly specialized skills, lots of time and parts that were not meant to be serviced by a consumer or general repair tech.

As an example, I was at a local camera repair shop recently and saw someone bring in two point-and-shoots that weren't working. One would turn on but the LCD didn't work, and the other wouldn't turn on despite the person replacing the AA batteries. The repair tech looked at both cameras, but pretty quickly said that they weren't repairable and were essentially paperweights. Once the customer left, they told me that people looking for compact camera repairs is a very common occurrence these days, but that most of the time, they can't be fixed.

Don't forget obsolete accessories Older memory cards, like the MMC on the left, can be hard to find.
Image: Multicherry, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Even if you picked up a camera in fantastic working order, you also need to consider that some accessories may be obsolete. For example, some older point-and-shoots may use obscure memory card formats that are difficult or impossible to find. Finding a card reader for them could be just as tough. Likewise, it may be challenging or impossible to source batteries or battery chargers.

Without those items, your camera won't be functional. As a result, it's important to look at what batteries, chargers, memory cards or other accessories are necessary to use the camera.

Keep in mind longevity when buying

Old compact cameras can be a nice change of pace from today's highly technical and precise cameras or the overly processed images from smartphones. However, they can also be a risky purchase for the above reasons. If you're picking one up for $5 to $20, that's a lot different than $500, of course. But you may not want to pay a significant bit of money for a device that is already long past its predicted lifespan and could be nothing more than an artifact in a short amount of time.

If you deal with waves of drowsiness during the day, you might be among the estimated 33% of the population who suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), a common but often unrecognized condition that's linked to a host of increased health risks including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Now, researchers have identified the biological markers of it, bringing targeted treatment within reach.

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Category: Sleep, Wellness & Healthy Living, Body & Mind

Tags: Mass General Brigham, Sleep, Sleep deprivation, Hormone, Cortisol, metabolism, Circadian Rhythms, Genetics, Diet

Since revealing its 2nd-generation Transit Custom in 2022, Ford has used each subsequent Düsseldorf Caravan Salon to debut a different new-generation Nugget camper van, first in 2023 with its standard-wheelbase Nugget and PHEV preview, then last year with the first long-wheelbase models. This year marks its third opportunity, and it will grab that opportunity by debuting a new Nugget variant it calls "completely winter-proof." In the process, it will leapfrog Volkswagen yet again with a fully hard-sided four-sleeper layout VW doesn't offer in this segment.

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Category: Campervans, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: Ford, Campervan, RV, dusseldorf-caravan-salon-2025, Camping, Outdoors and Camping, Westfalia-Automotive

If you feel that your morning coffee puts a spring in your step, science agrees. In the first large-scale real-world study of its kind, researchers have found that caffeine isn't just a stimulant but can significantly improve mood under certain conditions – especially in the morning.

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Category: Diet & Nutrition, Wellness & Healthy Living, Body & Mind

Tags: Bielefeld University, University of Warwick, Caffeine, Coffee, Well-being, Happiness, Depression, Anxiety

A US Army quadcopter engaged and destroyed a winged drone during an exercise at Fort Rucker, Alabama. These days, that's not such a rare occurrence, but this one is different – it's the first that used a Claymore landmine strapped to the quad.

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Category: Military, Technology

Tags: US Army, drones, Explosives

Researchers have successfully tweaked a specialized compound from brown seaweed that appears to hold powerful anti-obesity potential – not through appetite suppression or fat burning, but by targeting the gut microbiome to get your body to fight weight gain naturally and long-term, without drugs or diet changes.

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Category: Obesity, Illnesses and conditions, Body & Mind

Tags: Zhejiang University, Seaweed, Algae, Obesity, Weight Loss, Gut Bacteria, Microbiome, nature, Marine Innovations, Diet, fat-absorption

Most 3D-printed houses we cover are either arranged on one floor or have an upper floor added later using a timber shell. However, this recent example, by Contec Australia, was entirely 3D-printed across both floors in just 18 hours.

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Category: Architecture, Technology

Tags: Building and Construction, 3D Printing, House, Home

The August Editors' photo challenge

The theme for our August Editors' photo challenge was "Road Trip," and we asked you to share your favorite moments on the open highway or road trip adventure.

You took us on a wild ride, with photos from across the globe, ranging from the vast expanse of the Arabian Peninsula to a frozen Mongolian lake. Each image is a testament to the spirit of adventure that fueled your journeys. As usual, we were overwhelmed with great photos – many more than we can present here. Our favorites, showcasing a diverse range of vision and talent, are presented in random order.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this photo challenge. If you want to participate in other photo challenges, visit our Challenges page to see currently open or upcoming challenges, or to vote in a recently closed challenge.

Avenue de Baobab in Madagascar

Photographer: Kjeld Olesen

Photographer's statement: Traveling around Madagascar, most people make a stop at Avenue de Baobab to take in the scenery of majestic baobabs lining the dirt road between Morondava and Tsingy De Bemaraha National Park.

Going in 2001, this was our first trip with a digital SLR camera, the Canon D30, with its 3 megapixel sensor, which was considered fantastic at the time, along with a voluminous IBM 340 MB Micro CF drive and a Minds@Work 6 GB DigitalWallet, allowing for some 2000 images to be stored – comparable to the usual 1800 images from 50 rolls of Kodachome. It is fun to see how much more detail and clarity can be extracted from those old Raw files using modern software.

Equipment: Canon EOS D30 + Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM

Heading into the storm

Photographer: LokeshS

Photographer's statement: Storm clouds brew overhead as the straight road to Leh, India, stretches across the wind-swept, barren land and disappears into the horizon. This picture was taken a few kilometers before the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers. Rain had stopped, though angry clouds gathered overhead for another assault on the land. Having seen numerous pictures of the Leh highway with an empty road stretching into the horizon, I too was inclined to take one. I purposely kept the BRO tents in the frame to highlight their presence amidst the tough conditions and desolation of the landscape.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II

Making his own road

Photographer: Nilesh Trivedi

Photographer's statement: An intrepid explorer gamely finding his way through the majestic dunes of the Rub Al Khali (or The Empty Quarter), one of the most desolate places on the planet.

Equipment: Canon EOS 70D + Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

Driving on frozen Lake Khovsgol

Photographer: SemK

Photographer's statement: In 2012, I traveled to the Northern part of Mongolia, to Khovsgol Lake, to see the Mongolia Winter festival. Crossing the lake was very strange because it was a very silent drive, and wherever we looked, all we saw was ice, snow and no signs or anything to read. This picture was taken when we stopped for a break while crossing the lake.

Equipment: Pentax K-5 + Pentax smc DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3

Driving the S-bend

Photographer: Jill Hancock

Photographer's statement: We were on a road and rail trip through China and visited the Rainbow Mountains, where you get around by bus. Here we were looking down on the road as it wound its way around the mountains as a bus drove along.

Road dogs, Hot Springs, SD

Photographer: jaberg

Photographer's statement: Gigi and I waiting for pack member JP. She’s provisioning. Dinner will be thick steaks cooked over the fire, but we have another hour to our destination and camp yet to make. Day ten or so of this trip. I’m loving it, but it’s taking its toll.

Equipment: Apple iPhone 5s

Equipment: Canon EOS R6 Mark II

High Atlas road trip

Photographer: Mark B Willey

Photographer's statement: The windy road up and over the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, this stitch panorama was taken on the day of the disastrous 2023 earthquake and near its epicenter. Fortunately, we were out in the Sahara Desert when it hit just before midnight!

Equipment: Nikon D500 + Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm F3.5-6.3G ED VR

The storm

Photographer: Andreas Glindemann

Photographer's statement: On a road trip close to Jasper Forest National Park in Arizona, we saw this pick-up perfectly fitting the landscape. Will the road guide it away from the storm? Probably.

Equipment: Olympus OM-D E-M1 + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm 1:2

Togwotee Pass highway

Photographer: McFrost69

Photographer's statement: A mid-October 2023 morning view of the Grand Teton as seen from just below the Togwotee Pass Lodge on US Highway 26-287 between Dubois and Moran, Wyoming. It was the beginning of my road trip down to Utah to see the annular eclipse of the Sun that month.

Equipment: Canon EOS 90D + Canon EF 70-200mm F4L USM

Scotland backroads

Photographer: poppyjk

Photographer's statement: My wife and I did a 24-day road trip through Ireland, Scotland and England. Poignant because her ancestors immigrated to the US from Scotland, and mine from Ireland. Both of us felt deep-rooted emotional connections. Close to Glencoe in Scotland, this flock of Scottish Blackface sheep delayed our driving for 45 minutes. Two Border Collies were tending the flock, but had no urgency to herd them off the road.

Equipment: Canon EOS 30D + Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM

Where the pavement ends

Photographer: Star Geezer

Photographer's statement: One of a dozen glacial lakes my wife and I canoed and tent camped during a 5700-mile road trip covering over 20 states. This lake, about 10 miles from the Canadian Border, was one of over 30 lakes and a dozen rivers we paddled. This road trip celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary in 2014. At the time, we were both in our late 60s, and one of dozens we took together over 50 years. Life's too short, go out and do something!

Equipment: Nikon D800 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED

Box of rain

Photographer: MCHammer

Photographer's statement: I was heading home across the Snake River Plain in Idaho when this rainbow appeared across the road. I couldn't get the entire scene into one frame, so I took six shots and merged them as a panorama in Photoshop. I also corrected the perspective as much as I was able.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G7

Heading home after a long day

Photographer: WSmith_798

Photographer's statement: My husband and I were visiting Yellowstone National Park. At the end of one day, we were heading back to our campsite in stop-and-go traffic when a bison cut in line in front of us with such ease we wondered if it was his routine. Captured through the windshield with my first DSLR, a Canon 70D, and a Canon EF-S 15-85mm lens.

Equipment: Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

Mongolia

Photographer: JeffryzPhoto

Photographer's statement: While stopping to hit the outhouse, we saw this car out of gas at a tiny gas station in the middle of nowhere in Western Mongolia. (Everything seems to be in the middle of nowhere outside the capital city of Ulanbaatar, where half the population resides.) They were waiting to fill up, and the car wouldn't start when the one in front of it pulled away.

Equipment: iPhone 15 Pro Max

Driving through the highlands

Photographer: JohnnyBE

Photographer's statement: This photograph was taken around 1:00 AM during an all-night road trip through the Highlands of Iceland. Experiencing and photographing such a remote place with no one else around was truly unforgettable.

This photo was taken from a drone, with the main challenge being to find the right composition to capture this epic location, while at the same time including my car for scale and perspective. The blue light worked beautifully with my exposure settings, allowing me to convey the mood of the moment, from the dark volcanoes to the distant blue sky.

Equipment: Hasselblad L3D-100C

On our way to Monument Valley

Photographer: IFRPilot

Photographer's statement: This is the first time we visited Monument Valley. Even before arriving at the park, we saw impressive formations of rocks. It was also nice to meet some of the local people there.

Equipment: Sony a7R + Sony FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar T*

On Iceland's ring road

Photographer: Phantogram

Photographer's statement: In spring this year, I was chasing the northern lights in Iceland. When the weather was not promising, I was hitting the road for a better location. However, bad weather often gives the nicest shots. This picture was made close to Djupivogur, a small town in the east fjords, with blistering winds and between rainstorms.

Equipment: Sony a7 III + Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS

Way up to the Col du Lautaret

Photographer: alexolph

Photographer's statement: Beautiful scenery in the French Alps with the majestic Ecrins massif in the background. Bicycle trip with a dear friend heading to Col du Galibier. Panorama composed of six single images using ptGUI and Lightroom post-processing.

Equipment: Ricoh GR III

Nepal van Java

Photographer: Myles Baker

Photographer's statement: Every year, my wife's extended family goes on a road trip somewhere in Indonesia. I hadn't been able to go for the last two years due to work, but I was able to make this trip. We rented a bus (complete with mini-bar & karaoke, because, why not) and headed from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, taking in sites like Borobudur & Prambanan. This photo of a few of the cousins was taken on a side trip to Nepal van Java, a small mountain village near Magelang, Jawa Timur.

Equipment: Canon EOS R8 + Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM

On cue, a red convertible

Photographer: Ranger 9

Photographer's statement: It was a hot, hazy August day, and I had driven up the old Lincoln Highway route through Harrison County, Iowa, to climb the steep, grassy trail up the bluffs to the Murray Hill Scenic Overlook. At the top, it was quiet except for the wind; I was possibly the only human within half a mile. The panorama of the Missouri River valley spread out at my feet, fields dappled by clouds, a winding asphalt road directly below me.

Looking down at the scene, I thought: "This is almost too perfect. All it needs is a red convertible." I was pondering the scene when I heard the hum of tires, looked down, and saw... a red convertible. The brake lights blinked on for an instant as it slowed for the sharp left-hand curve. I had just enough time to drag the camera to my eye and make one shot.

Equipment: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8

An innovation is more easily appreciated when compared with what it replaced, and so it is for the first petrol truck, which is undergoing restoration this month in southwestern Germany.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Daimler, Truck, Antiques, World's First, Museum

"EVs are green, EVs are environmentally-friendly," blah, blah, blah … That may be true, but who needs a Tesla supercharger when you can simply fill your motorcycle with some leftover restaurant grease and happily chug along the road?

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Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Harley Davidson, Custom Bikes, Biofuel, Biodiesel, Clean+Fuel, Engineering

When Nissan first introduced the LEAF in 2011, many saw it as a fairly straightforward, compact hatchback aimed at early electric vehicle (EV) adopters. This year it evolved into a crossover SUV, and now we know when the third-generation model is coming.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Nissan, Nissan LEAF, Electric Vehicles, Crossover, Chevrolet, Affordable

Another day, another EV world record smashed. This time by the Polestar 3 SUV, which covered a total of 581.3 miles (935 km) on a single charge, setting a new Guinness World Record in the process.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Polestar, Electric Vehicles, World Records, Guinness, SUV, Volvo, Lucid Motors, General Motors